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New to Buddism

I'm new to Buddism and so far I'm doing a lot of reading. From what I can gather, meditation is essential in this journey. My question is, does anyone have any suggestion on where, how, when to start meditating....should I use self guided meditation and if so, who would you recommend?

Thanks

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Comments

@Sweettee you can find good information and talks about buddhism on youtube. Look up folks like Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron, or google other teachers. Read "the heart of the buddha's teaching." Look up basic breathing exercises for meditation. It's all about quieting your mind so that you can see the truth of things. Research the Four Noble Truths, the Five Aggregates, the Eight-Fold Path. That's a good place to begin! welcome to NB

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federicaseeker of the clear blue skyIts better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator

One thing I did when I was first beginning, and which I still do on bad days or days when I cant't place my focus, is to distract myself with a white noise, like the shower, or rain, or tinkling wind-chimes.... or wind... you get the idea. Focusing on that noise while regulating your breathing can be just as useful as chanting mantra.

Definitely what @RuddyDuck9 said, and I've also found it useful to just label thoughts as they arise as "thinking", nothing more, without judgment (Pema Chodron's advice). Just practice noticing them as they are, and returning focus to the breath. Good luck!

I also find just about everything from Thich Nhat Hanh useful. Enjoy the ride, and I wish you well!

The best source is always an older monk or nun, trained and experienced in one of the traditions of Buddhism.

The NEXT best source is a book called "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Bhante Gunaratana (I have read a LOT of books on Buddhism in the 15 years I have practiced). My sister sent me the book, which had been given to her by her teacher, a Sri Lankan bhante. Despite the fact that my teacher is a Tibetan Lama, this book was excellent.
The first few chapters are one of the finest introductions I have ever read about what Buddhism is and what it is NOT (and we Westerners have a lot of confusion about Buddhism). The REST of the book I have seen that amazon.com sells this book, so that is where I would refer you. I suppose they probably have "readers reviews" (or whatever they call it) so that YOU can see what others have thought of the book ... always useful.

Perhaps nothing and no one is new to Buddhism ..........Buddhism is the natural process before existence and end of existence .....every moment in life or after life as long as we are still emotion , we are in this natural process of Buddhism .......no one and nothing is outside of Buddhism

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federicaseeker of the clear blue skyIts better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator